But the phone also runs the Sailfish OS, the open source code based on the MeeGo operating system first developed, and then dropped, by Nokia. Sailfish can also run Android applications, which gives users access to the world's largest mobile apps market rather than having to scramble for apps like Blackberry.

"There's different opportunities for people to get apps form different places, different stores," Dillon said. "We are ramping up our Jolla community right now. There's already a Sailfish website so that developers can come and contribute."

Launching in Finland was a logical move for the company – Nokia's decline and eventual flogging off to Microsoft has been a point of contention in the country. At its peak Nokia paid nearly a quarter of all of Finland's corporate tax take and the locals took considerable pride in having such a world-class local company.

But it's not just a local firm. Jolla claims to have had preorders from over 130 countries and will be ramping up production to meet future demand Dillon said. ®